Just an Update:

Hey friends.  It's been about four months since I've posted anything so I thought I'd do a quick update.  We returned from a fabulous European vacation in July.  It was a great time connecting with family we've never met and seeing places we've never been.  I had told myself I wasn't going to think about anything fertility related until we got back...and I really haven't.  I needed the break to clear my head.

After I shared my last post, we were given the news that Dr. Braverman had passed away from cancer.  I didn't even know he was terminal-only that he was "sick" when I had talked with Dr. V about my immune panel.  It was a tough blow to the infertility community and we certainly felt it too.  I submitted my surgical records to Dr. V but I heard nothing in response.  Honestly, after reading through them myself, I'm uncertain if all my endo is gone (and I'm not sure the surgery was as aggressive as it could have been).  The thought of having to do surgery AGAIN for a 4th time is NOT appealing, but I will say, up until recently, my period pain level has been almost completely GONE.  I don't even have to take ibuprofen for the cramping it's so mild now.   I think that's a pretty powerful statement to the surgery but it's now been 10 months post op.  My window of opportunity for fertility purposes is pretty much closed.  Is it impossible? No..but I think it's close to it.

I'd love to try Dr. V's immune protocol for timed intercourse with ovulation stimulation. But in doing so, we will have to pay him to monitor me.  It's not cheap (though it's obviously MUCH cheaper than IVF).  AND, I'd have to get my local RE on board.  My plan was to switch RE's (same clinic, different RE) and see if he'd be willing to bend a little with the Intralipid infusions.  A little birdie told me that 2 out of the 3 local RE's are retiring and some big changes were coming that SHOULD allow for more advanced procedures and forward thinking (ahem, like infusions). We'll see.  All of this takes time...and my eggs are definitely not getting any younger. Surrogacy is also still on the table.  There's just so much that goes into it that sometimes I get overwhelmed with all the decisions.

For the first time EVER since getting married, we are staying in the same place for a third year and not moving.  It's such a weird feeling!  While it's SO nice to know that I don't have to start over with a new clinic in another state, the healthcare here isn't really one that I want to stick with.  While this town has grown on me in a lot of ways, the lack of choice in specialty clinics is tough.  We've thought about going back to the San Antonio IVF program, or traveling to Atlanta for care, or going back to AZ with Dr. G (however, it's illegal to do surrogacy in AZ) and even starting over with Dr. B's clinic. We just aren't sure right now what to do, if anything at all.  In the words of Pastor Peter, "Prayer IS the work."